RII Track-1: Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructures driven by Social Equity (ARISE)

Considerations of equity and underrepresented groups are currently missing from resilience and relief efforts in response to extreme events. The Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructures driven by Social Equity (ARISE) project will develop a social-equity-driven paradigm for resilience analysis as well as a pipeline of decision makers and community leaders for the transformation of how communities invest in and manage physical and human infrastructure.

Framed around four themes, ARISE research aims to innovate and transform how communities in Kansas consider resilience in the face of hazards and disasters. These themes are supported by extensive community engagement, community engaged research, and education and outreach components. The ARISE project will increase research, education, and training capacity in data science, machine learning, complex network modeling, decision and risk management science, and social equity.

This project will also develop the foundation for “smart” communities and cities while creating new industries that retain highly qualified Kansas professionals. ARISE will be administered by the University of Kansas in collaboration with Kansas State University, Wichita State University, Baker University, Donnelly College, and seven Kansas community colleges.

The Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructures driven by Social Equity (ARISE) project is framed around four research themes. Theme 1 focuses on understanding equity measurements and interdependent infrastructure systems; Theme 2 develops an evaluation framework; Theme 3 considers four case studies for hypothesis testing; and Theme 4 integrates research into decision-lever case studies and decision support tools.

ARISE will build academic research capacity in Kansas for technology-enabled “smart and resilient” infrastructure research to transform rural and vulnerable communities that are typically underrepresented in “smart cities” research. The project is based on the recognition that disaster recovery policies and programs have been systematically biased against underserved community members such as the homeless, the disabled, those living in poverty, minorities, and ethnic and indigenous populations.

The major gap the project seeks to address is this lack of attention to equity in resilience frameworks, policy, and tools. ARISE will examine the relationship between disasters, resources, and equity and will develop a stochastic hetero-functional, graph-theoretic framework for understanding interdependent human and physical infrastructures. The research will apply a six-dimensional approach for measuring social equity (community capitals).

ARISE research is integrated with capacity building and outreach activities including interdisciplinary summer research experiences for undergraduates, partnerships with museums and libraries in underserved communities to promote youth and family STEM engagement, and workforce development programs for municipal planners and utility operators. The project will enable researchers and educators to be at the forefront of the resilience science and engineering arena, leading to enhanced research capacity in Kansas.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.